Contractors plead guilty to workplace safety charges in death of snowplow worker

Two contractors have pleaded guilty to charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, after a young sidewalk snowplow operator was killed while working in London.

According to the Ministry of Labour, J. Jackson Pools Inc. and Wee Bee Contracting both pleaded guilty to one count of failing to provide information, instruction, and supervision to protect the safety of a worker on July 18.

The pleas came one day after the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) released its final report into thecrash.

It was about 9:40 a.m. on January 9, 2018, that 26-year-old Malcom Trudell was struck by an eastbound freight train on Colborne Street while operating a Bobcat.

He'd been awake for almost 24 hours and working for almost 12 hours, said the TSB.

The report noted the City of London's extensive training program for sidewalk snowplow operators, but said it didn't provide formal training programs for snowplow operators to the contractors it hired when it began outsourcing work in 2015.

"Neither Jackson Pools nor Wee Bee provided aformal training program to their employees," it read.

Jackson Pools was hired by the city to clear sidewalks, and in turn contracted Wee Bee to help with those operations.

Trudell was hired by Wee Bee in December 2017.

Wee BeeContracting has been fined $15,000 plus a 25-per cent victim fine surcharge, while Jackson Pools has been fined $60,000 plus a 25-per cent victim surcharge.

The City of London is charged withfailing to provide information, instruction, and supervision to protect the health and safety of a worker, and failing to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker. Those charges aregoing to trial in January.